Can a Celebrity Serve as an Issue‐Relevant Argument in the Elaboration Likelihood Model?

While celebrity endorsement has been traditionally perceived as a peripheral cue in the elaboration likelihood model, several conceptual studies suggest otherwise that it may play a significant role in delivering issue‐relevant information when celebrity–product congruence exists. The current study provides empirical evidence that a celebrity indeed serves as an issue‐relevant argument by investigating the interaction effects between endorser–product congruence and product involvement on consumer responses in two different match‐up conditions. Moderated regression analysis results indicated that product involvement strengthened the effect of expertise‐based endorser–product congruence on consumer responses. However, the relationship between attractiveness‐based endorser–product congruence and consumer responses generated insignificant results. Research findings entail that a celebrity persuades consumers through the central route when the expert image in particular fits well with the endorsed product. Further analyses indicated that attitude toward the brand mediated the relationship between attitude toward the advertisement and purchase intention in both match‐up environments.     

Celebrity Endorsements

Abstract

Advertising professionals rely on the assumption that using a celebrity to endorse a brand will result in an increase in consumer recall of the brand. Advertisers believe that using a celebrity endorser will foster, in the mind of the consumer, a match or connection between the celebrity endorser and the endorsed brand. The results presented in this study, however, found that a celebrity recognized in a magazine advertisement did not increase consumer recall of the brand endorsed by the celebrity for both professional athlete celebrities and other entertainment celebrities who are not professional athletes. Furthermore, subjects in this study did not correctly identify the brand when previously exposed to the full magazine advertisement, even when the celebrity's face cued the subject for recall. The results of this study raise questions relative to using celebrity endorsements to enhance brand recall.     

Celebrity endorsements: Influence of a product-endorser match on Millennials attitudes and purchase intentions

The buying power of millennial consumers is ever growing. They are social consumers, sharing all aspects of their experiences on social media. One advertising technique that may sway millennial consumers is using a celebrity endorser. The purpose of this study was to investigate if the presence of a congruent product-endorser match helped influence purchase intent of millennial consumers and aide in favourable attitudes toward the advertisement. Millennials evaluated an unfamiliar celebrity endorsement where they indicated they had little intent to purchase the product endorsed by the unfamiliar celebrity, but the unfamiliar celebrity did lead to favourable evaluations of the advertisement.     

Determinants for Effects of Celebrity Negative Information: When to Terminate a Relationship with a Celebrity Endorser in Trouble?

This study examines three factors that influence consumers’ brand evaluation and purchase intention under negative celebrity information. The study is designed to investigate the effects of consumers’ perceived associative strength between celebrity endorser and brand, the role of congruence between a celebrity endorser's negative information and his/her endorsed brand, and the effects of consumers’ level of brand commitment. The study's findings suggest that congruence or “fit” between a celebrity endorser's negative information and an endorsed brand moderates a consumers’ evaluation of brand and purchase intentions. The study finds that a strong associative link between the brand and the celebrity endorser leads to lower brand evaluation as well as lower purchase intention. It also finds that consumers with a higher level of brand commitment are less likely to react negatively to a celebrity's bad publicity than are consumers with a lower level of brand commitment. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Who Benefits from Multiple Brand Celebrity Endorsements? An Experimental Investigation

Advertisers commonly use celebrity endorsers to increase the effectiveness of advertising in persuading consumers. In many cases, these celebrities endorse more than one brand. Little is known, however, about the benefit to brands from these multiple endorsements by the same celebrity. This research applies classical conditioning theory to an exploration of multiple brand endorsements by a single celebrity, and examines how brand concept consistency between endorsed brands affects consumers’ evaluations of the endorsed brand. The findings, over two separate studies, indicate that exact and high concept consistency between endorsed brands positively influences consumers’ attitude toward these brands.     

Being True to Oneself: Investigating Celebrity Brand Authenticity

Celebrity brand authenticity is introduced as a construct that represents consumer perceptions of celebrities being “true to oneself” in their behaviors and interactions with consumers. A scale is developed through two purification stages and the scale's predictive validity is assessed. First, the meaning of celebrity brand authenticity to consumers is explored. Second, the Authenticity Inventory from the psychology literature is adapted to develop a scale for consumer perceptions of celebrity brand authenticity. Celebrity brands are perceived as true to self when they appear genuine in their relationships with consumers and behave in accordance with their perceived held values. Evidence of the convergent and discriminant validity of the celebrity brand authenticity scale is provided, which confirms celebrity brand authenticity as distinct from celebrity attachment, despite containing relational items. Finally, the predictive power of celebrity brand authenticity is confirmed through positively influencing consumer intentions to purchase an endorsed brand. Brand managers can use celebrity brand authenticity to position or develop celebrity brands, as well as in the selection of celebrity endorsers.     

Endorsers in Advertising: The Case of Negative Celebrity Information

Abstract

The use of celebrity endorsers is a popular executional device, but it is not without risk. The authors report three studies examining how negative information about a celebrity can affect the brand the celebrity endorses. Using an associative network model of memory as a theoretical framework, they considered four moderating variables: the size of the association set for the brand, the size of the association set for the celebrity, the timing of the negative celebrity information, and the strength of the associative link between the brand and the celebrity. In the first two studies, they used a fictitious but realistic celebrity endorser and in the third they used an actual celebrity. Negative information about a celebrity resulted in a decline in attitude toward the endorsed brand only for the fictitious celebrity. That general relationship was moderated in varying degrees by association set size, timing of the negative information, and the strength of the link between brand and celebrity.     

Should We Hire David Beckham to Endorse our Brand? Contextual Interference and Consumer Memory for Brands in a Celebrity's Endorsement Portfolio

Imagine that you are browsing through a magazine, and you see one of your favorite celebrities in an advertisement. Then, a bit further into the magazine you see that same celebrity in an ad for a different product. A few hours later, you think of the celebrity again and try to remember the products s/he was endorsing, but what will you actually recall? This paper examines consumer memory for celebrity advertising under conditions where a single celebrity advertises for more than one brand. Using contextual interference as the theoretical lens, the current research posits and demonstrates how brands in a celebrity's “endorsement portfolio” compete with one another when consumers use the celebrity as retrieval cue for information that was contained in the ads. The findings of the laboratory experiment reveal that brands sharing either a high or low match with the celebrity win the battle during retrieval and inhibit consumers’ ability to accurately recall ad information for brands sharing a more moderate match with the celebrity. The theoretical practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

When Your Source Is Smiling,Consumers May Automatically Smile with You: Investigating the Source Expressive Display Hypothesis

Facial expressions act as a powerful readout device, influencing a viewer's own emotional response. Drawing from facial feedback theory, the mediating role of source expressive display‐based judgments on the influence of source facial expressions on consumer attitudes toward advertising stimuli, attitudes toward endorsed brands, and behavioral intention is examined. In addition, the examination of expressive display‐based judgments as an automatic phenomenon, contingent on the familiarity of the source and the perceived match with the product endorsed is investigated. Across three studies, the facial expression of a source (resting vs. smiling) is manipulated within endorsement contexts. Results demonstrate that when an endorser is pictured in an advertisement with a smiling facial expression, consumers report feeling more pleasant (pleasure), with this positive emotional response mediating the relationship between source expressive display and attitude toward an advertisement, attitude toward a brand, and purchase intention. Results also indicate that the emotional response derived from the presence of a smiling source in an advertisement occurs effortlessly, yet only for a familiar source and one that is perceived to match the product endorsed, indicating this process can be defined as automatic under certain conditions. The findings from these studies provide advertisers with an effective cue to enhance a consumer's emotional response to advertisements, which in turn heighten advertisement, brand, and behavioral based judgments.     

A new model of how celebrity endorsements work: attitude toward the endorsement as a mediator of celebrity source and endorsement effects

This research introduces attitude towards the endorsement as a mediating variable in the relationships between celebrity source and endorsement factors and brand attitude. It also includes perceived celebrity motive, a variable rarely studied in the previous literature, as an endorsement factor. In a survey study, respondents evaluated four celebrity endorsement campaigns. Mediation analyses show that attitude towards the endorsement mediates the effects of three variables on brand attitude; these variables are celebrity expertise, celebrity–brand fit, and perceived celebrity motive. Moreover, results show that if consumers perceive that the celebrity was motivated to do the endorsement not only by money but also by product quality, this has a significant positive effect on attitude towards the brand.     

Measuring the impact of brand-celebrity personality congruence on purchase intention

The present study aims to understand the impact of congruence between brand and celebrity personality on consumers attitude and purchase intentions. The data were collected from 382 business school students in India. Drawing from the theoretical frameworks of Attribution theory, Attitude theory, User imagery, Elaboration Likelihood Model, and match-up hypothesis, results reveals that congruence between celebrity and brand personality positively impacts the brand recall, brand associations, and reinforces the brand personality. Which favorably and significantly impacted attitude toward the advertisement and brand. Attitude toward brand has positively impacted purchase intention. ‘Brand personality self-image congruence’ and ‘involvement level with the brand’ were found to moderate the impact of brand association and brand personality reinforcement on attitude toward advertisements and brand. The paper provides practical implications for the advertisement agencies and media managers.     

Classical conditioning and celebrity endorsers: An examination of belongingness and resistance to extinction

Three studies attempt to better explain how celebrities are used effectively as conditioned stimuli in the associative learning process. Study 1 establishes that direct affect transfer can occur using celebrities via conditioning. Study 2 suggests that celebrity conditioning will be more effective when there is an appropriate fit (belongingness) between the celebrity and the product endorsed—also known as the match‐up hypothesis. Finally, Study 3 examines whether attitudes toward brands paired with celebrities are resistant to efforts to extinguish them using extinction procedures. The findings suggest that conditioning with celebrities yields brand attitudes that are robust and enduring. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

What affects the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement? Impact of interplay among congruence,identification, and attribution

This study draws upon congruence theory, identification theory, and attribution theory as a means of examining how celebrity endorsement works. The study proposes that the effectiveness of celebrity endorsement may be influenced by the following three factors: congruence between a celebrity endorser and endorsed brand/product, identification with a celebrity endorser, and consumers’ attribution styles (i.e., internal vs. external). To test the proposed hypotheses, the study employs a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subject factorial design. A total of 317 college students participated in the study in return for course credits. The study findings suggest that congruence, identification, and consumers’ attribution styles indeed have impacts on consumers’ attitude toward ad, brand, or purchase intention. The study also finds that there is a relationship between congruence (low vs. high congruence) and attribution styles (internal vs. external). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Celebrity Scandal Fallout: How Attribution Style Can Protect the Sponsor

An attribution is an inference about why an event occurred or about a person's disposition or other psychological state. This study is designed to examine the effects of consumers’ attribution styles (i.e., dispositional and situational) and moderating role of celebrity identification and brand commitment in the evaluation of negative information about a celebrity endorser. The study finds that people who make dispositional attributions judge the endorsed brand more negatively than do those who make situational attributions. The findings also suggest that consumers with a higher level of identification with the celebrity are less likely to react negatively to the bad publicity. Finally, the study found that, when faced with a celebrity scandal, people with high brand commitment showed more favorable attitudes toward the brand as well as higher purchase intention than those with low brand commitment.     

品牌组合代言溢出效应研究——名人崇拜的调节作用

文章采用心理学实验法,基于拟社会互动关系视角的研究发现：不同水平的名人崇拜对名人多品牌组合代言的消费者评价有正向影响;名人崇拜对品牌代言组合的消费者影响有调节作用,即高崇拜消费者对品牌代言组合的消费者影响不敏感,且保持在一个相对稳定的较高水平;而低崇拜消费者对品牌代言组合的消费者影响大致成倒“U”型曲线结构。文章开拓性地将“名人崇拜”这一社会心理现象与市场中的消费者行为联系起来,揭示了名人崇拜对多品牌组合代言效应的调节作用,为名人多品牌组合代言活动提供了理论依据与实践指导。     

The impact of death on consumer responses to celebrity endorser misbehavior

A well‐established stream of research on celebrity misbehavior suggests that negative information may have an adverse effect on an endorsed brand because of its association with a celebrity considered as blameworthy. However, the present research calls into question the generalizability of these results to fatal misbehaviors (i.e., misbehaviors that lead to the celebrity's death). Indeed, after death, a celebrity may gain spiritual meanings, and consumers may find it more difficult to blame a sacred individual. As such, the current article investigates the impact of a celebrity's death on blame attribution and consumer attitudes in the context of celebrity endorser misbehavior. The results of three experiments uncover that death favors a partial blame attribution transfer from the celebrity endorser to the brand, but only when the misbehavior implies a product related to the brand. In addition, the findings reveal a positive effect of death through celebrity sacredness on brand attitude.     

Antecedents and consequences of consumers' attribution style: Measuring the impact of negative celebrity information

This study investigates the antecedents and consequences of consumers' attribution styles in the evaluation of negative celebrity information. In its evaluation of negative celebrity information, this study examines the effects of consumers' different attribution styles, level of identification with a celebrity endorser, and level of brand commitment. To test its hypotheses, the study employs a 2 × 2 × 2 between-subject factorial design. The three factors are attribution style, level of identification with a celebrity endorser, and level of brand commitment. Conducted through the Internet, the experiment recruited a total of 229 students from a southwestern university in the USA. The study found that people making dispositional attributions judged the endorsed brand more negatively than those making situational attributions. Confronted with negative celebrity information, consumers who identified highly with the celebrity were likely to maintain a positive attitude toward a brand and continue purchasing it. In the same conditions, people with high brand commitment showed more positive brand evaluation as well as higher purchase intention than people with low brand commitment. The research findings contribute to a better understanding of the effects of negative celebrity information on consumer attitudes and beliefs.     

How long does celebrity meaning transfer last? Delayed effects and the moderating roles of brand experience,celebrity liking,and age

Extending previous research on celebrity endorsements, the study investigates whether the meaning of celebrities is transferred to endorsed brands and how transfer effects develop over time. Additionally, the moderating roles of brand experience, celebrity liking, and consumers’ age are investigated. The hypothesized effects are modeled using a propositional learning approach with an experimental repeated-measures design (panel data). Results confirm the assumed meaning transfer effect. In addition, the effects appear to be substantially stronger after about a week indicating some type of sleeper effect. Furthermore, the effects increase with increasing brand experience and celebrity liking. Adolescent consumers are not differently affected when compared to adults and controlled for the differing levels of brand experience. Results are discussed in light of propositional learning theory. Future areas of research are proposed.     

Guilty by Association: The Perils of Celebrity Endorsement for Endorsed Brands and their Direct Competitors

The objective of the research presented in this article is to examine the possibility that the adverse effects on consumer brand attitudes engendered by the involvement of a celebrity endorser in a negative event may spill over brands of the same product category (i.e., competitors). The results of an experimental study with 165 adult consumers showed that a scandal involving an athlete endorser had a negative impact not only on the attitude toward the endorsed brand, but also on the attitude toward competitor brands. This suggests that brands strongly associated with one sport may be vulnerable in the context of a scandal falling upon a celebrity athlete endorsing one of their direct competitors.     

Effectiveness of Indecent Language in Advertising on Young Adult Consumer Attitudes and Purchase Intent

This study applies both the Dual Mediation Hypothesis and Schema Congruity Theory to examine the effectiveness of mild controversial advertising executions on young adult consumer cognitions, affect, and behavior. Findings from this study suggest that advertisements featuring mild indecent language result in more positive advertisement attitudes, brand attitudes, and purchase intentions than when decent language is used. Young adult consumers also report more positive advertisement and brand attitudes, and a greater likelihood of purchase when they perceive the advertisement to be congruent with their existing schema, regardless of whether the execution is mildly controversial or noncontroversial in nature. The findings of this study are important to advertisers in the development of effective creative execution techniques.